Bleacher Report Thinks Albert Pujols Has Ruined It For All Free Agents

General Managers, no matter what sport, tend to never learn. This is a widely known fact. All it takes is one stupid GM to sign a player to a lengthy and expensive contract. In leagues of 30 teams where every team is desperate to win (with a few exceptions) and more than one team bidding for a player it doesn't take much for a player to make a shit-ton of money in free agency. Well, that's all over now as we will learn today. See, General Managers have learned from Albert Pujols' struggles and we will see a list of ten players who will be affected by Pujols struggles when it comes time to be a free agent after this season.

There are two incorrect assumptions at work here:

1. Each of these players is in some way comparable to Pujols as to be affected by his struggles, which few of these players listed are in a comparable position to Pujols.

2. MLB General Managers have learned their lesson to not overpay for free agents. I doubt that lesson has been learned now since it doesn't seem to have been learned in the past. General Managers didn't learn their lesson in 2001 when the Rockies gave up a combined $172 million for the 28 year old Mike Hampton and 32 year old Denny Neagle. They haven't learned from Jayson Werth's contract given out by the Nationals, the $136 million contract given to Alfonso Soriano by the Cubs, the $126 million contract given out by the Blue Jays for Vernon Wells or the $126 million given to Barry Zito by the Giants. Why would MLB teams learn now? So what I am saying is while I wouldn't call Pujols' contract a bad contract, I don't think any of these players are going to be affected by Pujols' struggles when it comes time for free agency.

Thanks to Cory for emailing me this link. I always appreciate bad writing being emailed to me.

We can all agree that for the better part of the past decade, Albert Pujols has been the best player in baseball and that the 10-year, $254 million contract he signed with the Los Angeles Angels this past winter paid him as such.

I still say the best player in baseball over the last decade was David Eckstein. Pujols rode both of his World Series victories on the back of Eckstein's inspiring, gritty, emotional support...even if Eckstein wasn't on the team for the second World Series victory. We all know Eckstein's heart and grit was what pulled the Cardinals through to victory.

One month is certainly nowhere near enough time to pass judgement on whether his contract is a good one or not,

But it will change the way General Managers value players in free agency forever!

While Josh Hamilton is really the only impending free agent who could be mentioned in the same breath as Pujols in terms of impact on a franchise both on the field and from a marketing perspective, there are a number of players who are likely to find that the offers they receive are for fewer years, less money or both than originally expected.

So there will be offers for fewer years, less money or both of these things than the player expected. I think I understand. All of this is because of Albert Pujols' contract. What is never explained is why GM's are learning now, as opposed to learning over the past decade when plenty of other bad free agent contracts were handed out. Nevermind this, an article needs to be written and we shouldn't get too hung up whether the premise for the article makes sense with reality or not.

It seems this writer doesn't entirely understand the idea of using "comparables" to determine how much a player would be worth as a free agent. He compares outfielders, catchers, and third basemen of varying talent levels to show how Pujols contract and following struggles will affect these players. Let's start the slideshow!

Lance Berkman

Berkman is 37 years old and accepted a one year contract extension during last season. He avoided becoming a free agent and passed up the opportunity to accept a multi-year deal in order to sign a one year deal with the Cardinals. I would think Pujols' contract will have a 1.45% chance of affecting any deal Berkman gets this offseason.

They say that hindsight is 20/20, and that being the case, Lance Berkman wishes that he'd become a free agent earlier in his career, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times. That being the case, it's fair to assume that the man known as Fat Elvis, who replaced Albert Pujols at first base in St. Louis, has his mind set on testing the waters of free agency again following this season rather than work out an extension with the Cardinals.

And of course teams will look at Albert Pujols' contract and say about Berkman, "There's no way we are giving a 37 year old over $200 million over 10 years." Because Berkman's future contract is so comparable to Pujols' contract and all. If you read the column where Berkman said he wished he had tested the waters of free agency, he was referring to when he was younger, not at his current age.

While Berkman would likely prefer a multi-year deal knowing that it's likely the last one of his career,

And you are basing this assumption on what? If Berkman preferred a multi-year deal he would have tried to sign one after last season.

Michael Bourn

Michael Bourn has nothing in common (in terms of the skill set they provide on the field) with Albert Pujols. He is represented by Scott Boras, who is known for getting top dollar for his clients in free agency and I can't imagine how Pujols' contract will affect Michael Bourn.

Considering that his game is predicated on his speed, perhaps the six-year, $106 million deal that Jose Reyes signed with the Miami Marlins would serve as a better example of why teams will be reluctant to dish out a similar deal to Michael Bourn.

And yet, you compare him to Albert Pujols and his contract. Go figure.

Earning $6.845 million this season, some have speculated that a five-year, $50 million contract extension would be a fair deal for both Bourn and the Braves.

Because we all know Scott Boras wants his clients to avoid hitting free agency as often as possible. The Braves have a 0.51% chance of signing Bourn. Bourn is going to want Jose Reyes-type money or at least five or six years at $80 million and the Braves won't pay that. Combining the fact he will only be 30 at the beginning of next season and his agent is Scott Boras, I think he will get it what he wants and his contract offer won't be affected by Albert Pujols.

While an annual salary of $10 million is probably close to accurate, it's hard to see anyone giving Bourn a five-year deal when you take Pujols and Reyes into consideration.

Not true. Reyes still got 6 years at $106 million last year from the Marlins despite other players reaching free agency and not being worth their contract in the past. I still fail to see how Pujols struggles are going to change free agency this winter.

Edwin Encarnacion

No. His contract won't be affected in any way by Albert Pujol's contract. No teams will shorten the length of a deal or reduce the amount of money offered to Edwin Encarnacion because of Albert Pujols and his contract. Agents use comparable players at his client's position to start a discussion about what a reasonable contract might be. Pujols is not a comparable to Encarnacion.

Andre Ethier

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal says that Ethier, who will turn 31 years old next April, is looking for a contract similar to the one Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals a few years ago, in the neighborhood of $126 million over seven years.

So wouldn't Ethier be hurt by Jayson Werth's struggles more than Albert Pujols' struggles?

Josh Hamilton

Right, because if anything drags down Hamilton's value in free agency it is the value of Albert Pujols' contract and not Hamilton's history on and off-the-field. It isn't Hamilton's history of drug use, alcohol use, the scary thought he may relapse or the fact he is injured quite frequently that will drag his value down. No way. It is GM's seeing Albert Pujols struggle for one month and then becoming afraid Hamilton could struggle in the same way.

Since the 2009 season, his first in Texas in which he played 156 games, Hamilton has battled both his demons and his health, averaging 127 games played each of the past two seasons.

If anything, these injuries are why the length of Hamilton's free agent deal will be shorter or for less money than his talent level suggests he could receive.

Hamilton will be the most sought after bat on the free-agent market and is sure to receive multi-year offers from a number of teams and his annual salary will push, if not exceed, $20 million a year.

Which given the market, may be what he is worth. Boy, that Pujols deal really hurt Hamilton didn't it?

The issue with Hamilton will be the years offered—while history would dictate that a five or six-year deal was in the cards, I'd argue that with Pujols' struggles, Hamilton is more likely to receive three and four-year offers at the most.

If Pujols' struggles really affected Hamilton's free agency value wouldn't teams want to pay Hamilton less money per season rather than give him a shorter contract for $20 million per year? I guess it depends on the team, but if teams are scared of a long, expensive contract they may be willing to give Hamilton more years, but less money. Not to mention if Hamilton gets a three or four year offer at the maximum, then it is because of his injury and personal substance abuse history and may not have anything to do with Pujols' contract.

Mike Napoli

Mike Napoli is a catcher/first baseman. His value will most likely be measured against other catchers...which to add to my confusion, the author of this article admits. Yet, this article is supposed to be about Napoli's value being affected by Albert Pujols' struggles.

Napoli's agent, Brian Grieper told Heyman that "Mike Napoli is somewhere between Victor Martinez and Yadier Molina.

(shakes head sadly)

David Ortiz

With the issues surrounding the Boston Red Sox this season, two questions need to be asked in regards to 36-year-old David Ortiz.

1. How long of a contract will he be offered after this season?

2. How the hell will Albert Pujols' contract affect David Ortiz's contract offers?

His options would be limited to American League teams only considering his inability to play the field,

Albert Pujols can still play the field. Therein lies a major difference in Ortiz and Pujols and why one player's contract won't affect the other's contract.

but how many teams would be willing to invest multiple years at an annual salary around $15 million in him?

Not many now that Albert Pujols has struggled for one month after he received his large contract, that's for sure!

Nick Swisher

If it weren't for Albert Pujols, Nick Swisher would have gotten a $200 million contract.

Swisher will get a new contract from someone, but instead of a four or five-year deal in the $75-85 million range, he'll have to settle for a three-year deal around $50 million instead.

If this happens, it happens because the Yankees aren't keen enough to bring Swisher back, which would help drive up his price. Pujols has nothing to do with Swisher's contract situation.

Ichiro Suzuki

He turns 39 in October. He was never going to receive more than a three year deal. If Bleacher Report can't make a list of 10 players for a certain slideshow they are writing about, they need to shorten the number of players. I realize this would reduce their pageviews, but sometimes you have to sacrifice quantity for quality. This is a lesson Bleacher Report has never learned. Quantity always trumps quality in their world.

Shane Victorino

Victorino, who will be 32 years old before next season starts, wants a five-year deal, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Of course Victorino wanted a 10 year deal prior to Albert Pujols signing with the Angels. Because MLB General Managers immediately learn from all mistakes, he now knows even though he plays a different position from Pujols and is a completely type of hitter from Pujols that he will have to settle for a five year deal.

Earning $9.5 million this season, Victorino is sure to be looking for a rather significant raise, one that he very well may receive—just not a raise that will pay him through his 37th birthday.

And why is this? Not because teams don't want to pay for a 37 year old player whose speed is one of his biggest assets or because most guys who aren't franchise players don't receive big money after the age of 37 years old. Not in the author's opinion. In the author's opinion Victorino won't get a contract that goes through his 37th birthday because Albert Pujols struggled in his first month as an Angel after signing a huge 10 year contract.

Apparently this author struggles with the idea of using comparable players to determine the market value of a free agent. Pujols isn't really comparable to nearly all of these players. He also underestimates the willingness of one MLB team to give a large contract to a free agent player. All it takes is one team to make a huge offer and that's why Pujols contract shouldn't affect the offers pending free agents will receive.